Director of Enterprise Risk Management - Governance

Nelnet is a diversified and innovative company committed to enriching lives through the power of service as a student loan servicer, professional services company, consumer loan originator and servicer, payments processor, renewable energy solutions, and K-12 and higher education expert. For over 40 years, Nelnet has been serving its customers, associates, and communities. The perks of working at Nelnet go beyond our benefits package. When you join the Nelnet team, you're part of a community invested in the success of each individual.

About the role

The Director of Enterprise Risk Management – Governance is a second line risk leader responsible for the design, coordination, and oversight of Nelnet Bank's risk governance infrastructure. As the Bank grows through higher volumes of existing products and diversifies its product base, this role ensures that governance routines, controls, and documentation scale accordingly. Reporting to the Chief Risk Officer, this position drives the cadence and discipline of the Bank's Risk Management Framework and serves as the Bank's strategic point of contact with its banking regulators.

Responsibilities

• Risk Governance Committee & Working Group Administration
  • Direct the inventory of Bank Management Committee and related meetings, partnering with Committee owners as necessary.
  • Partner across the bank to ensure successful governance and execution of key Management Committee oversight and initiatives.
  • Serve as the central point of contact for the Bank's governance calendar, ensuring meeting cadence supports timely decision-making and Board/regulatory reporting needs.
• Regulatory Liaison
  • Serve as the Bank's primary and strategic point of contact for banking regulators and examiners (e.g., OCC, FDIC, state banking departments) on risk governance matters.
  • Lead the coordination, preparation, and quality review of materials, responses, and documentation for regulatory examinations and inquiries.
  • Represent the Bank in regulatory exam entrance and exit meetings and in ongoing supervisory communications, in partnership with the CRO and senior management.
  • Own the relationship management cadence with regulatory agencies, ensuring consistent, transparent, and timely two-way communication between the Bank and its regulators.
  • Monitor emerging regulatory expectations and guidance, and advise the CRO, senior management, and governance committees on implications to the Bank's risk framework.
  • Partner with Legal and Compliance to ensure regulatory commitments are tracked, addressed, and closed within committed timeframes.
• Issues Management Program
  • Direct the strategic management of the Bank's Issues Management program.
  • Ensure issues identified through audit, exams, quality assurance, and self-identification are logged, prioritized, and tracked to resolution.
• New Product Working Group
  • Lead the Bank's New Product Working Group, facilitating cross-functional review of new and modified products and services prior to launch.
  • Direct input from legal, compliance, risk management, credit, operations, technology, and finance partners to ensure risks are identified and addressed before go-live.
  • Ensure new product risk assessments are documented and that post-launch monitoring commitments are tracked and completed.
• Third Party Risk Management (TPRM) Oversight
  • Oversee the Bank's adherence to Nelnet Inc.'s Third Party Risk Management program, including risk tiering, due diligence, contract review, and ongoing monitoring requirements.
  • Partner with business units to ensure new and renewing vendor relationships follow the TPRM lifecycle from onboarding through termination.
  • Track and report on TPRM program compliance, exceptions, and remediation activities to leadership and applicable committees.
• Risk Acceptance Process
  • Oversee the Bank's Risk Acceptance process, including intake, review, approval workflow, and tracking of accepted risks.
  • Ensure risk acceptance requests are reviewed by appropriate stakeholders and approval authorities based on risk level.
  • Maintain the risk acceptance inventory and drive periodic reassessment, renewal, or remediation of accepted risks.
• Model Risk Management
  • Oversee the meeting schedule and agenda, partnering with model owners, validators, and other stakeholders to ensure meeting materials are distributed in advance of each meeting.
  • Maintain Committee minutes, track action items, and drive follow-up items to closure.
  • Ensure documentation is clear to support governance, audit, and regulatory review.
• Policy Governance
  • Oversee the review and approval of Bank policies according to schedule through the appropriate Committees and the Board.
  • Maintain a policy inventory and calendar, tracking policy owners, review cycles, and approval status.
  • Escalate overdue or at-risk policy reviews to management and drive timely resolution.
• Contract Management System
  • Maintain oversight of a contract management system serving as the centralized repository for Bank contracts.
  • Ensure processes are in place to track key terms, obligations, renewal and expiration dates, and contract ownership.
  • Partner with Legal, Procurement, and business owners to drive adoption and ongoing maintenance of the system.
• Bank Insurance Oversight
  • Partner with Nelnet Inc. to maintain visibility into the Bank's insurance program, including policy renewals, coverage adequacy assessments, and claims coordination.
  • Partner with Nelnet's Enterprise Risk Management team to ensure coverage aligns with the Bank's risk profile and growth trajectory.
• Credit Bureau Reporting Oversight
  • Partner with Nelnet Inc. to maintain visibility into the Bank's credit bureau reporting processes, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and completeness of furnished data.
  • Ensure dispute resolution processes and reporting practices comply with applicable regulations (e.g., FCRA, Metro 2 reporting standards).

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in risk management, governance, audit, or compliance within banking or financial services, including experience operating at a senior/director level.
• Demonstrated experience serving as a direct point of contact with banking regulators and examiners, representing the organization in supervisory interactions.
• Demonstrated experience with committee governance, policy management, and issues management programs.
• Experience with Third Party Risk Management programs and vendor risk oversight.
• Experience working in a regulated banking environment.
• Strong leadership, project management, and organizational skills, with the ability to direct multiple concurrent workstreams and deadlines across a governance function.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with demonstrated experience preparing and presenting materials to management committees, the Board, and regulatory agencies.
• Independent, detail-oriented, and process-driven, with sound judgment and the ability to exercise independent challenge and influence senior stakeholders.
• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree a plus.
• Recommended: CRCM, CRMA, CTPRP, and/or PMP certifications.

Pay

Annual compensation range for this role is $180,000-$200,000 depending on experience.

Schedule

This is a hybrid position, and associates are required to work 24 hours per week onsite (typically three days per week), with the remaining hours worked remotely.

Location

Preference is for candidates based in Draper, UT; however, we are also open to candidates in Lincoln, NE. Please note that we are unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position. To be considered, candidates must already be authorized to work in the United States without the need for current or future sponsorship.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, HSA and FSA
• Generous earned time off
• 401K/student loan repayment
• Life insurance & AD&D insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Employee stock purchase program
• Tuition reimbursement
• Performance-based incentive pay
• Short- and long-term disability
• Robust wellness program